12th Annual Come Out with Pride Orlando

For over a decade now, "Come Out with Pride Orlando" has grown exponentially, becoming one of the largest LGBT pride celebrations not just in the state of Florida, but in the entire Southeast, with over 150,000 people attending the parade and festival portions of the festivities last year. This year's Come Out with Pride events will occur between Thursday, October 6 and Saturday, October 8.

On Thursday, the official "Come Out with Pride Orlando" launch party will take place at The Abbey (100 S. Eola Dr.), beginning at 7 p.m. The intimate event, which will have space for about 300-350 people, will be sure to get the community abuzz and ready to celebrate on Saturday. For more information on how you can attend the Pride launch party, visit comeoutwithpride.com/events.

On Friday, the Pride on Church Street block party, organized by Hamburger Mary's Orlando, will return to Church Street Station right in front of Mary's. Many entertainers based right here in Florida will perform, including such talent as the Rock Hard Revue, Hamburger Mary's Orlando Broadway brunch crowd, Mary's female impersonators Leigh Shannon and Crystle Chambers, Miss America 2004 Ericka Dunlap, and DJ JB Burgos. Special guest performers include Amy Armstrong and Freddy Allen, direct from Chicago, and, from Nashville, multi-platinum country music recording artist Ty Herndon. The free party begins at 8 p.m.

The events on Saturday begin with a "Big Gay Brunch" sponsored by Orlando Weekly, which will take place at The Abbey starting at 11 a.m. Ticketholders will enjoy a wonderful brunch, mimosas and a Bloody Mary bar, music by DJ Reagan, live entertainment, and performances from several surprise guests! Visit comeoutwithpride.com/events for more information.

The Come Out with Pride festival will begin at noon, with the Marriott Pride Marketplace, featuring 100+ vendors, food, drinks and entertainment, situated on the southeast side of Lake Eola (Eola Dr. and E. Central Blvd.). Going down Central toward Rosalind Ave. and the amphitheater, you will see "Taste of Pride", sponsored by Verizon, which is a new addition to the Come Out with Pride festivities. For $150 per person, you can enjoy great foods cooked up by over a dozen celebrity chefs, such as Art Smith, Cat Cora, Elizabeth Falkner, Kevin Fonzo, Liana Robberecht and others. These meals will be paired with drinks from expert mixologists, and the ticket cost also includes great seating for the fireworks display which will end the day. For tickets, visit comeoutwithpride.com/events/taste-of-pride.

Walking up the Rosalind Ave. side of Lake Eola, you will see the VIP experience area, sponsored by SunTrust. At the VIP area, there will be an air-conditioned tent, an open bar from noon to 9 p.m., and light bites from 1 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $85 in advance ($95 the day of the event), and guaranteed parade grandstand seating will cost $20 more. To buy tickets, visit comeoutwithpirde.com/vip-experience-register.

The amphitheater, sponsored by Wawa, will be the place to view lots of entertainment acts. Some of the names you will see include Michelle Clunie and Peter Paige, both formerly of Queer as Folk; actor and singer Michael Cerveris; comedians Matteo Lane and Sabrina Jalees; singer-songwriters Eli Lieb and Brandon Skeie; and YouTube vloggers R.J. Aguiar and Will Shepherd. On the Eola Dr. side, after the sponsor walk and before the Pride Marketplace, there is a second stage, the Pride stage, also sponsored by Wawa, where some entertainers can also be seen.

One of the most exciting parts of Come Out with Pride Orlando is "The Most Colorful Parade." The parade will begin at 4 p.m. and will have a longer route this year. Starting at the corner of Rosalind Ave. and Robinson Ave., the parade will go past Eola Dr. to Summerlin Ave., going down Summerlin to E. Central Blvd. From there, the parade will go into downtown, taking a right at Orange Ave. and proceeding up Orange before turning right on Robinson.

This year's community grand marshals, in honor of the response during and after the Pulse tragedy, include: The Orlando Police Department, including Vehicle #49, Chief John Mina and additional Orlando Police motorcades and walkers; The Orlando Fire Department; The Pulse Float, including Pulse employees and family members of those affected, followed by additional first responders and Orlando Regional Medical Center staff; Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan; and PNC Bank, as the parade sponsor. The cherry on top of this event is the 9 p.m. fireworks display by Santore, sponsored by Ticketmaster/LiveNation. The fireworks are free to view in countless locations throughout Lake Eola Park.

Afterwards, you can enjoy the official after-party at The Abbey, dedicated to Pulse, which is a Latin night experience featuring music by DJ Simon and DJ Infinite and performances by Kenya Michaels, Angelica Sanchez, Chavela Belleza and Jasmine International. Outside, there will be performances by Axel Andrews, MrMs Adrien and Kai'ja Adonis. The pre-party starts at 6 p.m. and the official party starts at 9 p.m., going on until 2:30 a.m. If you're going to Parliament House after Pride, local "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" queen Roxxxy Andrews will be performing with the Footlight Players at 10 p.m. and midnight. NeNe Leakes, best-known for Bravo's "Real Housewives of Atlanta," will be the hostess of the special evening! Tickets are $10 in advance ($20 the day of), with a VIP option priced at $75 which will include a cocktail reception with NeNe and Roxxxy. To buy your tickets, visit parliamenthouse.com.

Hotspots Media Group is a proud sponsor of Come Out with Pride Orlando. For more information on Come Out with Pride, visit comeoutwithpride.com